Vieira lauds Guardiola's commitment to style

Patrick Vieira has praised Pep Guardiola for bringing an attacking brand of football to Manchester City.

Pep Guardiola should be admired for cultivating a controlling and attacking style of play, according to New York City boss Patrick Vieira.

Guardiola takes his Manchester City side to Monaco on Tuesday, with their 5-3 first-leg victory leaving them with a good chance of securing a spot in the Champions League quarter-finals.

City have consistently been one of England's more entertaining sides this season and have scored 14 goals in their last five matches in all competitions, but Guardiola has nonetheless faced criticism for some of his team's defensive displays.

But Vieira - who left his role with the Elite Development Squad at the Etihad Stadium to become coach of sister club New York last year - says the Guardiola philosophy is one he is keen to explore.

"I've been a big fan of Pep," he told Omnisport. "The way he's working, the way his team is playing makes me want to study the games.

"Not just Manchester City - when he was coaching Barcelona or Bayern Munich, the way he tries to control the game, the possession and having the creativity to go forward and score goals, I quite like this philosophy.

"It's not about right or wrong, it's just about how you see the game and how you want your players to express themselves. What's important for me is to know exactly what I want from the players, the team, and to produce the game we want."